1983Fishing and Farming between Mountains and Seas

Chapter 11 Where is the Ship Going?

After the cable was untied, Liang Ziqiang returned to the boat, started the diesel engine, and headed towards the sea.

He himself jumped off the boat before it got too far and stood in the shallow water.

I watched the empty fishing boat drift away little by little as the tide receded.

There won't be much diesel left on the boat. By the time the diesel runs out, the boat should be far out to sea.

By then, the boat that lost power would be carried away by the ocean current to an unknown place...

The fishing boat quickly became blurred in the gloomy vision, and Liang Ziqiang felt a little reluctant.

Even though it was an antique ship that should have been scrapped long ago, he couldn't help feeling a little lost when it really drifted away with the waves.

But this loss was soon overwhelmed by another feeling of relief.

That impending catastrophic disaster should be considered to have ended prematurely in my own hands.

Father, elder brother and younger brother, three young lives, no longer have to be buried at the bottom of the sea?

Even though it was something that had clearly happened in his own hands, Liang Ziqiang had a faint sense of unreality.

Anyway, the biggest stone in his heart fell to the ground. He turned around and resolutely left this small pier.

This time, we really have to go to those tidal gullies to recover the trap nets.

As soon as Liang Ziqiang lifted the first row of nets from the water, he felt how heavy they were. They were heavier than the traps he usually put in the ground!
I shone the flashlight on it and wow, this time I caught not only shrimps and crabs, but also several fish.

I looked and saw two of them were sea bass, each weighing more than two kilograms. These two alone probably weighed five kilograms.

The rest are stone crabs and mantis shrimps, which weigh about five or six kilograms.

In short, the total weight of this row of nets is definitely more than ten kilograms.

The surprises didn’t end there.

Coming to another tidal gully, although this row is full of shrimps and crabs, upon closer inspection, many of them are actually blue crabs.

Compared with stone crabs, blue crabs are one or two cents more expensive, but of course, the more the better.

More importantly, there are fewer mantis shrimps in this row of nets, but there are many prawns.

The physical features of the two are so different that you can tell them apart at a glance just by shining a flashlight at them.

The price of prawns is much higher than that of mantis shrimps. So, although this row is not that heavy to carry, it still costs a lot of money if you estimate it roughly?
The third row of nets is not far from the second row, but the harvest is very different from that of the second row.

There are fish, shrimps and crabs in it. The surface of the fish glows a light yellow under the flashlight, as if they have their own fluorescence.

They were two yellow croakers. Judging from their size, they were not small, and each weighed about a pound.

The shrimps are all red except for a few mantis shrimps. Although red shrimps are not as valuable as prawns, they are still much more expensive than mantis shrimps.

Keep going.

The fourth row of ground traps is not placed in the tidal ditch, but on the shallow side.

This row included stone crabs and mantis shrimps, as well as several whitebait.

The whitebait is not very big, probably less than half a pound each.

By the time all five rows of traps are collected, the total harvest should be about 40 to 50 kilograms!

Liang Ziqiang carried the net on his shoulders, which was quite heavy, but his mood became better.

He had always had good luck since he was a kid, but he usually only got 6-7 catties of fish per row of nets, sometimes 5-6 catties. It was the first time he had such a good harvest like today.

It seems that my luck is getting better and better?
Has the "fish-attracting physique" that I have had since childhood become more and more apparent as I grow older?
On the way home, he felt particularly fulfilled. For some reason, he just liked the feeling of constantly reaping surprises from the sea.

Perhaps, he was born to be a fisherman, if fate didn't play a joke on him.

When I got home, I immediately put all the fish and shrimp into the bucket. It was still a long time before dawn, so I washed my hands, went back to bed and continued to sleep.

When I woke up in the morning, the first thing I heard was my nephew Liang Xiaohai's cheerful shout:

"Fish! So many fish! I want to eat this delicious fish!"

I saw the little guy lying next to one of the big plastic barrels, pointing his hand into the barrel with his eyes staring straight ahead.

Liang Ziqiang went forward to take a look and was delighted. The little thing had a good memory and could even tell the difference between sea bass and other fish.

What his little finger was pointing at at this moment was a sea bass in the big plastic barrel.

He didn't know the name of the sea bass, but he certainly remembered the delicious taste of the steamed sea bass the day before yesterday, so the sea bass got a new name for him: "fragrant fish".

The family, who had just woken up, heard the little guy's cry and came over to take a look. They then noticed that Liang Ziqiang had brought back so many fish and shrimps last night. "Brother, you are not catching fish, the fish are chasing you!" Liang Zifeng joked to him.

Yuan Qiuying was also a little confused, and couldn't help but said to Liang's father:
"Is Aqiang really lucky? Defu, if you don't want to go out to sea, why don't you take him with you instead?"

Liang's father's expression showed a visible wavering:
"I mainly want the eldest and the third child to learn more. Now it seems that we should take it easy and take the second child with us first..."

Liang Ziqiang choked: "..."

Why didn't you tell me earlier! Now that I've even let the boat go, you suddenly change your mind and agree to let me go out to sea instead. What's that?

How about... I go swim in the sea for you and try to get it back?
The key is that he had to hold back his complaints and said cheerfully:

"That's right, then I'll go out to sea with you tomorrow?"

Father Liang thought for a moment:
"Let's go with the eldest and the third. If they don't learn to be smarter, when I'm old, will I be able to accompany them to sea for the rest of their lives?

As for you... when we get a new boat, the four of us can go out to sea together, there will be enough space for us!"

While the adults were chatting with each other, Liang Xiaohai watched them chat eagerly.

The confusion on his little face became more and more intense. What was wrong with these adults? None of them paid attention to his strong request?
Is it because his little trumpet voice isn't loud enough?

"Fish! I want to eat fragrant fish!"

In anger, he raised his voice and declared solemnly.

Liang Ziqiang quickly squatted down and hugged him, and agreed:

"I heard you, I heard you, then leave one and we'll steam it like we did last time!"

Liang's mother looked carefully and saw that it was a sea bass weighing more than two kilograms. It was obviously more valuable than the last one. She immediately clenched her teeth, as if she really had a toothache:
"This is money! This one alone can be sold for more than one dollar. Who eats money every day?!"

You know, last time Liang Ziqiang brought back a sea bass without permission, he was scolded by her.

She still regrets eating that fish. If she eats another one, she feels her heart may not be able to accept it.

From his grandmother's grief-stricken face, Liang Xiaohai saw the cruel fact that he was rejected.

But this time he showed his firmness and persistence. When the adults didn't agree, he simply opened his five fingers and grabbed the sea bass.

Almost put it in my mouth...

But the next second, he himself was picked up by one hand like the sea bass.

Kuang Haixia held the baby in one hand and beat the baby with the other. She was very skilled in beating the baby, and her left and right hands coordinated perfectly.

Liang Ziqiang shook his head after seeing this.

In fact, he quite likes his nephew Xiaohai's mischievous appearance. He is a little naughty, but also clever and cute.

But looking at his current situation, he will be slapped or slapped every other day. If he is beaten for another two years, he will become stupid. By then, he will be basically the same as his father Liang Tiancheng, except that he is still stupid. He is twenty-four or twenty-five years old, but he still can't master the technology of fishing at sea...

Liang Ziqiang even seriously suspected that his elder brother was also beaten by his mother when he was a child. As for himself, maybe his mother was too lazy to beat him.

"Sister-in-law Xiao Hai is not wrong at all, just say a few words!"

Liang Ziqiang couldn't bear it anymore and rescued Liang Xiaohai from the line of fire.

"Xiao Hai, let me tell you, this white croaker is also very tender and fragrant, and is no worse than that one!"

Liang Ziqiang thought of a compromise. Since sea bass was indeed painful to eat, he decided to replace it with whitebait.

In fact, the taste of white croaker is quite good, and its nutritional value is similar to that of yellow croaker, but it is cheaper than yellow croaker, and of course much cheaper than sea bass.

A large white carp costs just over one cent per pound, while a small white carp like this one, which weighs less than half a pound, can be sold for less than one cent per pound.

Of course, compared to sea bass, the taste is definitely not that good.

He picked out several white mullets in one go and saved them for cooking today.

It can be pan-fried or steamed like sea bass.

Liang's mother said nothing more about this.

Although Liang Xiaohai recognized that this was not the sea bass he wanted to eat, after a burst of shock he temporarily saw the situation clearly.

Throwing herself directly into Liang Ziqiang's arms:
"Second Uncle is a good man!"

He declared clearly.

(End of this chapter)